The silver-ground carpet (''Xanthorhoe montanata'') is a
moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
of the family
Geometridae
The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''met ...
. The species was
first described by
Michael Denis
Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist.
Life
Denis was born at Schärding ...
and
Ignaz Schiffermüller
Ignaz Schiffermüller (born 2 October 1727 in Hellmonsödt; died 21 June 1806 in Linz) was an Austrian naturalist mainly interested in Lepidoptera.
Schiffermüller was a teacher at the Theresianum College in Vienna. His collection was presented ...
in 1775. It is common throughout the
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...
region (from
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
to the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
but not Japan) including the
Near East
The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...
and North Africa.It is found in a variety of different habitats and occurs, for example, in humid forests, moorland and shore areas, on embankments or on unimproved grass meadows and heathlands as well as in gardens.
The
wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...
is 29–33 mm although some northern races may be smaller. The forewings are white with a broad shaded band which varies from pale grey to almost black. The hindwings are also white with pale
fascia
A fascia (; plural fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; from Latin: "band") is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. ...
and a small black discal spot.
In ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World''
Louis Beethoven Prout
Louis Beethoven Prout (1864–1943) was an English entomologist and musicologist.
Prout specialised in the insect order of Lepidoptera, especially the Geometridae, or geometer moths, on which he was a foremost authority. His notebooks and publ ...
wrote:
The species flies from May to July, usually at dusk. It will come to light but is not strongly attracted.
The
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
is grey with a purplish-brown back. It has been recorded feeding on
bedstraw, ''
Corydalis
''Corydalis'' (from Greek ''korydalís'' "crested lark") is a genus of about 470 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Papaveraceae, native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and the high mountains of tropical eastern ...
'',
globeflower,
hemlock and
primrose and probably feeds on other low-growing plants. The species overwinters as a larva.
#''The flight season refers to the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
. This may vary in other parts of the range.''
Subspecies
*''X. m. iberica''
*''X. m. lapponica''
*''X. m. montanata''
*''X. m. shetlandica''
References
*
Chinery, Michael
Michael Chinery (born 1938, in London) is an English naturalist.
He studied in Cambridge where he graduated in natural sciences and anthropology.
He edits '' Cecidology'', the journal of the British Plant Gall Society
The British Plant Gall ...
''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe'' 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
*
Skinner, Bernard ''Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles'' 1984
External links
Silver-ground carpet at ''UKMoths''*
''Lepiforum e.V.''
Xanthorhoe
Moths described in 1775
Moths of Europe
Moths of Asia
Moths of Africa
Taxa named by Michael Denis
Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller
{{Xanthorhoini-stub